California priests plan public penance over abuse scandal

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - Two Roman Catholic priests have begun organizing a day of public penance to express their sorrow over the recent sex abuse scandal. Eight clerics have agreed to participate.

Fathers Bill Barman and John McAndrew sent e-mails last week asking fellow priests in the Diocese of Orange to participate. The public acts of contrition are believed to be the first by clerics in the United States since the scandal broke in January.

Priests will gather Dec. 18 at the Orange County Catholic Worker soup kitchen and homeless shelter in Santa Ana. The acts of penance will be based on recommendations from the public, which may include feeding the homeless or speaking with victims of abuse.

"Whatever I need to do that day, I'll do," said Barman, pastor of Our Lady of La Vang in Santa Ana. "This isn't a mental exercise like prayer, but a visible, incarnate act."

"We have up to this moment been perceived as part of the problem rather than part of the solution," said McAndrew, pastor of San Francisco Solano Church in Rancho Santa Margarita.